Mgahinga Golden Monkey Trekking Uganda

Mgahinga golden monkey trekking is one of the activities to consider when planning to trek primates in Uganda. Golden monkeys are beautiful primates with golden coat and black patch that makes them look very unique and attractive.

Golden Monkeys are only found in three countries of Africa within the high-altitude bamboo in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda is the only place in the country that has these beautiful species.

The golden monkey is one of the primates in Uganda preferred for tracking by tourists on Uganda safaris. They are only found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. This same park is home to mountain gorillas and is best for gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda. It’s from the fact both golden monkeys and silverback gorillas live in the same park that the slogan “where gold meets silver” was derived.

The golden monkeys in Mgahinga go through a habituation process to get familiar with the presence of humans before they are opened up to tourists. The habituated troops are available for tracking and the semi-habituated groups are available for golden monkey experiential.

Golden monkey trekking isn’t as exhausting as gorilla tracking since the golden monkeys do not build new nests each day and therefore their movement is easily traceable.

The golden monkey experiential is the best way to have a greater insight into the lifestyle of the monkeys. You spend more time with the golden monkeys and learn their behavior before being fully habituated.

A brief about Golden Monkeys

Golden Monkey

Golden Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis Kandti) is one of the primates tracked on African safaris. The golden monkey is a species of the Old World monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Africa. Unfortunately, due to the loss of their habitat in the past wars, the golden monkey is listed as endangered. About 2000 to 4,000 individuals are estimated to exist in the Virungas.

Where to find golden monkeys

Golden monkeys are found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in southwestern Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and in Congo. Golden monkeys are restricted within the highland forest, especially near bamboo.

The golden monkey was previously thought to be a subspecies of the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) but was found to be similar. The golden monkey is differentiated by the golden-orange patch on the upper flanks and back.

They are mainly herbivorous known to eat bamboo branchlets, shoots, flowers, fruit, and leaves. However, they are opportunistic feeders whose diet is easily influenced by the availability of fruit. In rare cases, they also feed on insects.

Because of their kind of diet, the golden monkeys live in habitats with a lot of bamboo and fruit, which is part of the Virunga Volcanoes. They move between areas depending on where there is food. In the dry season, they look for ripe fruit and stay in those areas with fruit. When the rainy season begins, they move to the bamboo areas since the bamboo is shooting at that time. In most cases, they prefer places with both bamboo and fruit.

Social structure

They live in groups of different sizes sighted from 3 to as large as a group of 100 each group led by an alpha male. In size, the golden monkeys that live in the higher elevations are smaller compared to those in lower elevations.

In most cases, the golden monkeys sleep in one of their sleeping areas after a day of feeding. They sleep on top of the dense bamboo plant or several bamboo plants that they weave together to make a sufficient foundation to sleep, they do this in small subgroups of 4 individuals.

When they make a sleeping area, the next day, they will feed close to the sleeping area such that they return in the evening to sleep. This is different from the mountain gorillas that spend each night in a different place.

To trek golden monkeys, you can take a short 3-day safari to Mgahinga from Kampala or a shorter trip from Kigali Rwanda. To have a much more exhilarating kind of safari, then tailor your golden monkey trip with a gorilla safari to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

Popular Uganda Safaris Tours Tailored by Acacia Safaris Uganda

Uganda safari, trips & tours from Uganda gorilla trekking tours to exciting game drives in the most visited Uganda Safari Destinations will leave you wanting for more. The perfect Uganda safari for you and your budget.

Besides, Uganda has such a wealth of attractions that a single visit will not be enough to discover all its wonders. It has 10 National parks namely:

Murchison Falls NP, Kidepo Valley NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Semuliki National Park, Rwenzori Mountains NP, Kibale Forest NP, Bwindi impenetrable NP, Mt.Elgon NP. Each of these offers magnificent and unique fauna and flora, which make visitors always remember memorable moments in the Pearl of Africa.

Our most popular Uganda Gorilla Safaris to Bwindi Impenetrable Park and Mgahinga Gorilla Park offer our Gorilla Safari Uganda clients a great opportunity to go for Mountain Gorilla Trekking.